SPINE Festival
SPINE Festival is for children, young people and families and takes place this year throughout the month of June across libraries situated at the heart of London’s communities, both digitally and in-person.
In 2021, the festival’s theme is ‘EMPATHY’ and launches on 1 June, World Children’s Day. With a varied programme of events, performances and workshops, SPINE Festival inspires and empowers children, young people, and communities across 16 London boroughs.
The free programme of spoken word and arts activities also features Artists in Residence specially commissioned to develop work in fourteen boroughs, a Discover Arts Award Telling Tales creative writing workshops programme, innovative theatre shows, and ESOL Open House programme in two boroughs where participants from refugee communities creatively explore language through culture.
More about SPINE
The festival is quite large and has run for a few years now. The vibe this year will be slightly different as some of the events will take place online due to government restrictions. We feel this won’t affect the magic of SPINE festival and thought we’d share with you what SPINE means to us (Apples and Snakes) and to the communities that take part. We interview Sarah Smith from Brent Libraries so you can get to know the festival a little better.
Read the interview in this blog post.
What’s on
Find out what’s on at SPINE Festival:
Where is it taking place?
SPINE Festival 2021 takes place in the following London boroughs:
Brent ● Bromley ● Croydon ● Ealing ● Greenwich ● Hammersmith and Fulham ● Islington ● Kensington and Chelsea ● Lewisham ● Merton ● Newham ● Southwark ● Sutton ● Tower Hamlets ● Wandsworth ● Westminster
Libraries are creative spaces at the heart of London communities. They are free and open to all, and a great way to engage with and experience art and culture.
Previous SPINE Festivals
In 2020, SPINE Festival saw over 160 events delivered across 17 London boroughs, bringing together local communities to creatively explore the theme of ‘Our World’.
We’re really proud of the work the artists produced last year and we think it’s a great resource to keep coming back to:
Each year, SPINE Festival also offers a host of activities specifically for local school and community groups.
Produced by Apples and Snakes in partnership with Brent Library with support from John Lyon’s Charity and Arts Council England. We also would like to thank library authorities across London.
Photo credit: Suzi Corker
